A Listening Ear

 

A few weeks ago a young woman came by Tompkins Square Park in desperate need of help. 

“Do you guys know of any housing or shelter options?”  she asked.

“Sure!  I can give you a listing of different places that may be able to help.”  I said.

As we spoke further, her story unfolded.  She had been staying in a shelter with her boyfriend who was abusive.  Thankfully she was able to get out of there but it’s left her in a tough position.  She’s even afraid that he’ll come after her. 

After talking over different options, I asked if she would like prayer. 

“Yes, please!” 

She was very grateful and even shared how she grew up Catholic and believed in the power of prayer. 

“Thank you for listening.  You have no idea how much it meant to me just to have someone to talk with.” 

Life on the Streets - From the Heart of David Van Fleet

Living LIFE on the streets is never easy.  Instead, it can be so brutally painful. Most of us have never been homeless, nor ever would want to. But it’s not always as simple as that. Many we serve do not want to be there.  As we know, life’s many-sided issues and choices (not always our own) can come in droves and completely blind-side us. Before you know it, there you are, living moment by moment, day-to-day on the streets, in need of everything you formerly had taken for granted: food, clothing, bathroom, where to sleep, weather conditions, who to trust, and how to get any money. These are just a few of the daily dilemmas and challenges the poor and homeless face.  

I (David) chose to live that way in the early ’70s for 3 weeks on the Jersey shore which was one of my many times of running away from home, starting at 6 years old. I was sleeping under the boardwalk, panhandling, stealing all I could, and then drinking and drugging even more. 

I have never forgotten that we ALL have run from God, and yet He came to seek us out and save us from ourselves and all our sins. Because of the incredible LOVE of God, we now serve Him from the new heart He has given us, and seek to GO after ALL we can with the same LOVE that He gave us. We seek to #B12Reach1 just as Christ did and still does today! 

For people like Billy, life on the streets has been hard.  He had been coming faithfully to the Step Van at Tompkins Square Park for months now and was receiving much love and grace along with all that we bring practically. We bring clothing, food/drink, hygiene kits, prayers, Bibles and Gospels of John. He was so excited about starting a Bible study for the people living on the streets.  

This summer, he was assaulted several times, had all his belongings stolen twice, and was removed from the place he had been sleeping (as many others had during Covid19).  He then found another place on the streets with a different crowd. I saw him during our end of summer break and brought a lot of much needed practical items for him.

BUT NOW, he is NOWHERE to be found and no one has seen or heard from him in weeks. I even asked the local Police to make inquiries. So we are asking for prayer for BILLY as well as the many others we serve. Please pray with grace and true empathy.  Imagine if this was you or a loved one. God will help and reveal His heart of love to you for the ones known as the “least of these” in Matthew 25.  God is faithful and He will hear and answer us when we call!

UPDATE:  Thanks to all who have prayed for Billy the past few weeks. He is back and doing better. Even today was a small miracle as his boots were completely shot and I told him I am going to get you a pair somehow, someway.  Wouldn't you know it, somebody right then dropped off a pair of brand new perfectly fitted boots for Billy. I never take God for granted or the simplicity of prayer, nor does Billy.

From Minnesota to NYC Missionary

Never did I imagine what would happen in my first eight months in Flushing, NY. God had brought me to a place of complete trust in Him. Before I arrived in New York I went through some very difficult heartaches, through which I came out on the other side purified and refined. 

At 56 years old the jump into full-time missions was a 

long time in coming and a huge leap of faith. 

In the past five years, I’ve been on five mission trips with Street LIFE Ministries to Brazil where God gave me a burning passion for the lost through street evangelism. The cost has been high, and the enemy stole much from me as he began to see how God wanted to use me. Through it all God was there and truly trustworthy and faithful, and I realized He will NEVER leave me or forsake me! 

When Covid-19 hit, it became one of my first tests of my new found COMPLETE trust in God. Amazingly I’ve never become fearful of the virus. Psalm 139:5 became a reality for me “You hem me in behind and before, and you la
y your hand upon me”. God had my back allowing me to hit the streets without fear. It has been an amazing very busy few months here. All the norms went out the window and we got busy! Because of the great need, we in a greater way were feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, loving the unloved, and preaching the gospel. In a way, Covid-19 has opened up more opportunities for us to be salt and light and to tell many more of His great love.

All the Way from Alabama

Maggie has been with us now for more than a month and this is how she shared her story.....

Hello! My name is Maggie Jones, and I am from Jasper, Alabama. The summer before my senior year, my youth group went to Phoenix, Arizona for a Nazarene Youth Conference 2019. I experienced God speaking to me in the middle of this massive arena. It was there that I promised Him that wherever He wanted me, I would go. 

Then, God spoke again early on in my senior year, same feeling, same emotion, same everything. In that moment, I knew it was time to put some action behind my words. This is when I began searching, and my searching lasted for several weeks, until I found “Street LIFE Ministries in NYC”. I emailed and got a response that same day. I spoke with David and he shared with me that the SLM team had been praying that God would lead high school seniors to them for an internship. 

This conversation reassured my heart, and it led me to have some serious conversations with several important people in my life. The journey to finally arriving to serve with Street LIFE wasn’t easy. I could have never expected that we would be in the middle of a global pandemic. When I would share with others about my internship, and what I’d be doing, some would look at me like I was crazy. I would then share that this season of uncertainty has not been a deterrent for me, instead, this has encouraged me more that there is a greater reason that God has called me to go. After being here only one week, my heart remains the same. I have already seen in multiple ways, and in so many people, why God called me here. I am so thrilled to be serving with Street LIFE Ministries for the next two months! 

My Feet Hurt

        

A few weeks ago at Tompkins Square Park, there was a woman who had been looking at the clothes we had set out. I’ve spoken with Valerie (name changed) in the past, but mostly just pleasantries.  This day at the park she mentioned she had a lot of pain in her feet and it turns out she has plantar fasciitis. This is a condition I’ve had in the past, so I understand how painful it can be. 

Praying for people that need healing is something that I love to do at every opportunity that presents itself. So I asked if I could pray for her to which she agreed, I laid my hands on her foot and prayed.  Then I asked if it felt any different? She said it was maybe a bit better so we prayed again and there was more improvement. Several weeks went by and I see her again. Suddenly I remember her plantar fasciitis, so I asked her how her feet were feeling?  "Oh, you gotta pray for my feet, they really hurt”, she said.  

another person (not Valerie)

                                                         

I got down on my knees and laid my hands on her feet and said “In Jesus name pain be gone, tendons and bones go back into place now”. After I asked her to see how they felt which she acknowledged a little better so we prayed again. If you remember, Jesus prayed for the blind man twice before he could see fully, so I don’t hesitate to pray twice either. 

This time when she checked out her feet, the pain was completely gone and she could move and flex without hurting! She was so excited and exclaimed, “ What did you do? How did you do that?” I told her it was Jesus who healed you. At this point, Valerie was beginning to weep. I told her how much God loves her and is pursuing her. 

What I haven’t mentioned before is that Valerie had asked Jesus into her life that first time we prayed for her feet weeks before. The need for more prayer was evident, so we prayed again for her life, for her children, and for her to pursue God. Afterwards she was crying and saying she almost passed out when we were praying (as the power of the Holy Spirit was on her). I encouraged her to pray and read scripture every day starting with the gospel of John, Psalms, and Proverbs. Another friend was nearby and was equally touched. Thank you, Jesus.

We always bring food and clothing to the park for those in need but we are there for so much more!

                                            

An OPEN Door

During one of our prayer and fasting times, we prayed over Beautiful One (our outreach to the women in the massage parlors in Flushing, Queens) and specifically for “Diane” who has been receiving food from us during the COVID-19 pandemic.  That day we planned to drop off another package of food for her.  We prayed that her heart would be softened and she would be receptive to us and the Lord.  

When we arrived, I expected to leave the food on her doorstep like usual.  (She has been very afraid of the virus and did not want to come outside. We would see her peering through her window as we dropped off food and left it for her.)  

However, she opened the door, 

invited me in and showed me her room.  

“This is where I study English!” she proudly stated.  I was in shock but realized this was in answer to our prayers that day.  She and I chatted for a few moments.  She remains incredibly grateful for all that she has received.  “Dear, during the infectious disease, I did not go out for four months.  You took care of me so that I could eat and drink.  You made me the happiest woman during an infectious disease,” she wrote after receiving her “care package.”  

 

He Used to See Demons

        It was several weeks ago when a man sat down at the end of the row of chairs that we set up at Tompkins Square Park and he was eating some of the food we had given him. I’ve found over the years Holy Spirit will highlight someone that He would like me to speak with and I felt that with this man. We made the usual small talk about the weather and so on, and that he immigrated from Poland.

Then, during this conversation, he said “I see demons”.

So I began to speak to him about God loving him and the message of the gospel and I then prayed for him.

He comes back another week at Tompkins Square Park and he starts off the conversation with “my faith has been restored”. He is reading the New Testament in Polish every day which he showed me along with a book called the Bible Promise Book. At this point, I’m wanting to make sure I’m understanding what he is saying so I ask, “What do you mean your faith has been restored?” He goes on to tell me he has been listening to a Christian program every day and at the end is a sinner’s prayer for repentance, which he prays every day! So, he was no longer seeing demons!

We plant seeds and we water, but we don’t always get to see the harvest, so it was a huge blessing to know this man committed his life to the Lord, and his name is written in The Lamb’s Book of Life. Thank you Jesus!